


just before another date night

by captaincastello



Series: the possibility of us [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Drabble, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-17
Updated: 2018-08-17
Packaged: 2019-06-28 18:56:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15713088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captaincastello/pseuds/captaincastello
Summary: A tiny follow-up tothe possibility of us, in which Rizavi and Leifsdottir are simply happy for the newly boyfriends.





	just before another date night

**Author's Note:**

> WE FINALLY KNOW EVERYONE'S FIRST NAMES!! I'm so happy :'D
> 
> (i was thinking how awkward would it be for james to call his bf by his surname even in their private moments, but now we don't have to do that anymore~~)
> 
> anyway here's a fluffy ficlet before i can pull off a full-fledged fic

James looks down at his minimalistic clothing ensemble—plain white shirt, grey bomber jacket, sweatpants. He hasn’t been paying attention to what kind of clothes he has in his locker as recent events have left him with no room to care about his wardrobe at all, but one small (and adorably shy) grin from Ryan makes him remember that he’s more than his clothes, that he doesn’t have to think about how to impress him or anything when they already both know what the other is capable of, and it goes without saying that the admiration is mutual—and as was revealed a few nights ago, also of another kind.

Ryan is wearing the hooded sweater they got from the garrison during their senior year, and a fresh body spray that James immediately thinks he likes.

“Good to go?” Ryan says, cocking his head to the side.

“Yeah, I am. Oh, your hood’s stuck on the wrong side,” James says, and he reaches up and places his arms around Ryan’s neck to pull out the hood from inside his shirt. His fingers lightly graze sunkissed skin, and it feels warm. He maybe spends a second too long unnecessarily settling the hoodie snug around Ryan's shoulders.

He pauses, or time does because he swears everything just sort of stops when he lets his gaze travel upward and he catches the way Ryan’s eyes are locked on his face, the way his lips are slightly parted yet no words come out. For a split second he feels what he can only describe as a shot of lightning striking his body, except that jolt seems to have come from deep within him, leaving his insides buzzing with something electric.

Maybe it’s due to the leftover thrill of flying, this afternoon, or the relaxing warmth of the shower; regardless, James knows this familiar sensation of weightlessness all too well. Or maybe it’s the fact that he has another date tonight.

Ryan chuckles, breaking the sort of spell they both fell into that included nothing but those lips, those eyes, a shortness of breath.

“What’s funny?” James says, arms still around his boyfriend’s shoulders.

“You always like everything in order,” Ryan says, his own arm snaking around James’ waist to pull him closer.

James rolls his eyes as he returns the playful smile directed his way. “If you just wanted an excuse for me to cling to you, you could’ve just said so.”

“You guys are so gross,” Nadia calls out without turning her back on the massive Street Fighter hologram in the middle of the dorm lounge. Her fingers are moving so quickly over the motion detector pads that James thinks he’ll have to order another controller. “Also, please continue.”

“Vrepit-sal’s just launched a Friday Food Fest promo,” Ina interjects, eyes focused forward. Unlike her opponent, she isn’t bouncing up and down on the couch even as her thumbs are a blur over the pad. “They’re offering a 15% discount on the buffet for every four-person group.”

Vrepit-Sal’s is a hot new spot for hardcore food enthusiasts that opened up in the nearby town—its public appeal and popularity boosted by a banner under its main signage that reads “Yellow Paladin-Certified Food Establishment”.

Inside is pretty much the same as most cantinas, except on one wall is what seems to be an altar of sorts—framed in high-grade metal with a lustrous furnish, decorated with an elaborate display of colorful ribbons, and flanked by a couple of vases of exotic alien and local flowers, is an image of what seems to be Hunk Garret that James suspects is a zoomed-in and cropped portion of a blurry mall CCTV screenshot. Under it is an engraved plaque reading “Temporary-Employee of the Century”.  If not for the fact that James knows Hunk is alive and well, it almost seems like the display was for his memorial.

“Well, we _are_ due for a celebration,” James says as he shares a look with Ryan. Bright eyes blinking back at him tell him that they're both remembering the night Ryan finally worked up the nerve to close the gap between them as merely co-squad members.

This time, Nadia does turn away from the game. James thinks he’s never seen her smile grow so wide. “I’ll tell Veronica!”

“Let’s go next week,” James continues, his arms pulling Ryan in even closer. “I’m having him for myself tonight.”

“Gross!” Nadia exclaims, but her eyes are twinkling.

“That’s not what I—,” James sputters, arms falling stiffly to his sides when the full implication of what he just said finally settles in. “I meant we had reservations someplace else—we can’t just—I mean, we can’t possibly cancel at the last minute, the booking policy indicates that cancellation should be done two hours prior to—“

“So you haven’t gone _that_ far,” Ina simply states, eyes still on the screen where her Cammy is beating Nadia’s already abandoned Mr. Bison.

“Oh, look at the time, Ryan and I need to be there twenty minutes before the reserved time,” James immediately says as his mind and body finally bypass embarrassment and discombobulation. He takes Ryan by the hand, but it feels like he’s pulling on a giant pile of bricks that smelled like fulfilled dreams and looked like smooth jazz if it were a person.

“Ryan?”

He’s met with a blank gaze, and a pair of reddening cheeks that match his own.

Nadia comes over to poke Ryan where most people would be tickled. He doesn’t budge.

“I think your boyfriend just short-circuited,” she says. "Maybe you need to kiss him awake, like in fairy tales."

"Hey-"

"There's a 99.99% chance that it'll work."

"Why the 0.01%?" James says before he decides it doesn't really matter because they just love teasing him. "I hate you guys."

"Aw, we love you, too," Nadia says with a light nudge to his ribs. "Have you told _him_ that already?"

That night, Ryan Kinkade turned into a puddle on the floor. James Griffin discovered his face can turn into an undiscovered shade of red. Nadia Rizavi destroyed yet another game controller. Ina Leifsdottir set a new record on the international score board. And the two boyfriends still made it to their reservation, and both had a great time.

**Author's Note:**

> i'm HC-ing that they're taking it slow, because james read the "book of dating for dummies" (a signed copy forcefully given by lance), and the intricately detailed procedure states that (1) holding hands may be done on the second date ONLY after your partner has complimented you six times; (2) lacing your fingers together must only be permitted after you've walked 500 steps on at least two romantic dates with your partner; (3) kiss only when you've been checked for rabies after both have offered prayers to Bob; and this is complete utter BS because i can't figure out how to properly write romances, thanks for reading until this last word :)


End file.
